Saturday, June 16, 2012

First, thanks to everyone who has made suggestions on ways I can help Sam. All of them are wonderful and appreciated.

Now, what you all need to know. Sam's condition is chronic, progressive and painful. He has deteriorated much faster than I anticipated. When we arrived in Nashville, three months ago, the vet was able to treat him with Prednisone and an increased dose of Tramadol. At that time, he also told me that we were at the maximum dosage of Tramadol. When that dosage became ineffective, we would have to move on to something stronger; most likely Morphine. We are very close to that eventuality.

Sam's mobility is also seriously compromised. Some days he can move around pretty well. Most days, walking is a struggle. I have to escort him outside and stay outside with him while he does his business. Then, most of the time, I have to assist him to get back in the house. I'm not carrying him in and out but he needs me to motivate him.

Being a caretaker for an elderly dog is heart breaking and exhausting. This is especially true of a dog like Sam; a dog whose personality and physicality is such a huge part of who he is. Those of you who have met Sam, or have members of the Samily, will understand what I mean.

Last fall, I wrote a post called Choices. I'm asking myself the questions in that post almost daily now. The answers are telling me that I will have to make a choice, soon. It's made all the more difficult by the fact that Sam is still Sam. He's not yet telling me that it's his time but, it's not in Sam's personality to quit. Knowing Sam, I doubt he will ever tell me. The last appointment we had with our regular vet, he warned me that Sam wasn't going to make this easy on me. I always knew that would be the case.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

As part of managing the symptoms of Sam's cauda equina he has started having acupuncture treatments with Dr. Tammy Perkins at Animalia Wellness. He had his second treatment yesterday. I'll post some pictures of the clinic in a later post. It's the most gorgeous clinic I've ever seen.

Dr. Perkins suggested that Sam might benefit from some hydrotherapy as well. I can't really afford to take advantage of the underwater treadmill at Animalia so Dr. Perkins said that a kiddie pool would work too. That I can afford!

Yesterday I bought Sam a kiddie pool at Lowe's. Did you know these pools can be tough to find now? Wally World didn't even have them. This morning, I filled the pool with water and let it sit in the sunshine for a few hours so it would warm up a bit. Then I got Sam outside and lifted him into the pool. The idea was to have him walk circuits around the pool. Turns out, the pool is a little too small for that.

Sam, lounging in his private pool.

Yeah, this might not be too bad.

And then it happened..... Sam's re-enactment of the pool scene in Caddyshack.Only no one was eating a chocolate bar......

That's no Baby Ruth....

And so ended Sam's first dip in the pool. I helped him exit the pool - there wasn't any panic - dried him off and then dumped the pool. I don't think I'll need to wear a hazmat suit to clean it but it might be a while before Sam takes another dip.

Dog Quote of the Week

"All knowledge, the totality of all questions and all answers is contained in the dog."

- Franz Kafka

About Me, UHM and The Horde

Me: I'm a 40-something dog mom. I never intended to live with five dogs and a cat, it just happened. Funny thing is, I can't imagine living any other way.

UHM (Understanding House Mate): She didn't even have a dog when she was a child. FIVE dogs and a cat!?!? Now you know why she's understanding. She loves the dogs as much as I do. The cat, not so much.

The Heathen Horde: Sam, Ginny & Moira are the original Horde members. In the last two years Bogey & Georgia have been granted full membership status. Everyone is red & white - that way the neighbors aren't sure how many dogs we have :)